Teaneck teens say they want to move forward

Students and school officials rallied outside Teaneck High School on May 7 following the arrests of 63 students the week before after a mass break-in at the school, which was related to a senior prank.

TEANECK - In the two weeks since 63 students were arrested on charges related to a senior prank at Teaneck High School, students, parents, school officials and community members waited to learn what consequences the seniors may face, and tried to move on from an incident that made headlines locally and nationally.

On May 1, police responded to a burglar alarm at the high school. Some students fled the building, but 39 juveniles and 24 18-year-olds were arrested and charged with burglary and criminal mischief.

After school on May 7, a teen rally was held on the front lawn of the high school to dispel some of the negative publicity the school received in the wake of the senior prank and highlight the positive activities and achievements of its students.

The rally was organized by Teaneck Comes Together, a non-profit community organization that aims to provide programs and events for Teaneck's youth.

At the Wednesday rally, speakers reminded the more than 200 students gathered on the lawn that one mistake does not define the entire school community.

"While I don't pretend that what happened was merely an innocent event gone awry, one thing that every single person should know - it was one night. Cameras and cops didn't catch criminals and convicts, they caught kids and young adults, who for the most part, planned an innocent prank," said Tristan Anderson, a junior.

Kayla Silow-Carroll, the senior class president, listed some of the accomplishments of the students in the Class of 2014, and named several of the colleges and universities where seniors have been accepted. "Personally, I can't wait to see what we'll be doing in the future," she said.

Principal Dennis Heck told the students to be proud of their school.

"Sometimes perception and reality are really far apart. What goes on in this building and the people here right now, you're the reality. You are truly great people," he said. "Make the right decisions, make the right choices, move forward in your community, and show them what it's all about."

Later that evening at the school board meeting, Superintendent Barbara Pinsak spoke about the incident and the differing reports released by the district and the police department. According to police officials, the incident involved graffiti, damage to school property, students urinating in the hallways, scattered balloons and other debris and petroleum jelly smeared on doorknobs. A press release issued later from Pinsak stated the vandalism was not as extensive as earlier reports had indicated.

There were balloons and toilet paper streamers, desks moved into the hallways and petroleum jelly on doorknobs, but there was no damage to school property, and the writing originally thought to be permanent graffiti on desks was water-based marker, which was easily removed, she said.

After seeing the "escalation" of the description of what happened in news reports, and getting calls from parents and community members, Pinsak said she felt she had to issue a press release stating the facts as she knew them. "My concern was over this fiction, that seemed to be the fiction heard around the world," she said. "There was a lot of jumping to conclusions from people and a lot of advice on what we should do with our students."

She met again with the custodians who helped clean up the high school that morning to confirm the assessment of the damage. There was nothing broken, and all that was needed for the clean up were dry mops, Pinsak said. The total cost of the custodial service that morning was $970, which the custodians have offered to donate.

"They didn't feel it was appropriate for the district to incur the cost. They wanted to show their solidarity," she said, adding that the board will make a decision on whether to accept their offer.

Pinsak, Heck and the vice president of the school board, Gervonn Rice, met with the students involved and their parents on May 6.

"We made sure the students know this is something very serious, but that it's not a life sentence," said Rice of the meeting. "This is not something that should overshadow their four years at the high school and their 12 years of education."

Pinsak met with Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli on Monday to give her thoughts about what happened before he makes a decision to charge the 18-year-olds or send their cases to municipal court.

School Board President Ardie Walser said he hoped the incident would lead to better communication between the school district and the municipality and that Teaneck's younger students would learn "this is not the thing to do; it's just not worth it."

After Thomas Jefferson Middle School students were given tickets several years ago for jaywalking, the school board and town officials began meeting regularly to work collaboratively and find solutions to problems before they escalate, but those meetings stopped occurring as time went on.

"My hope is that it will be remanded back to municipal court and some sort of judicious allocation of punishment to fit the crime will be dispensed with these young people," Walser said.